January 2014

January 31, 2014

DALLAS -- Monta Ellis turned in a solid performance Friday night to help the Dallas Mavericks to a 107-103 win over the Sacramento Kings at American Airlines Center.

Ellis tallied 11 of his 20 points in the fourth quarter and also finished with no turnovers for the first time in a game this season as the Mavs padded their record to 27-21. In the two previous games Ellis had 17 points and 12 turnovers while looking shakey at best.

The Mavs desperately needed a game like this from Ellis, who had just four points in the first half against the Kings, but finished the night 6-of-10 from the field.

DALLAS -- Monta Ellis has struggled mightily recently, including scoring just 17 points and turning the ball over 12 times during the past two games.

It's a funk the Dallas guard hopes to crawl out of when the Mavericks (26-21) host the Sacramento Kings (15-30) tonight at 7:30 at American Airlines Center. But it's a funk Kings coach Michael Malone hopes Ellis stays in -- at least through tonight.

Malone, though, knows Ellis has the firepower to break out of his slump at any moment.

"He's a competitor,'' Malone said. "He's going to bring it tonight and we’re expecting the best Monta Ellis.

"We don't want him to get off against us and break that streak if he’s been struggling.''

DALLAS -- The Dallas Mavericks will catch a huge break tonight when they play Sacramento as the Kings will be without center DeMarcus Cousins.

It will be the fifth straight game Cousins has missed due to a sprained left ankle.

When the Kings drilled the Mavs 112-97 on Dec. 9 in Sacramento, Cousins picked up 32 points and 19 rebounds. But instead of Cousins, tonight the Mavs will have to contend with Aaron Gray, who averages 1.7 points and 2.7 rebounds and will start in Cousins' place.

"It's no secret, I thnk DeMarcus leads the league in usage rate,'' Kings coach Michael Malone said. "We play through him quite a bit.

"And the great thing about playing through DeMarcus is he can score, he can get the other team in foul trouble, but he also makes plays for his teammates. So you miss that low-post presence that you can play through.''

DALLAS -- The Dallas Mavericks recalled guard Ricky Ledo -- again -- from the Texas Legends of the D-League on Friday.

The rookie from Providence has gone through three different stints with the Legends, and likely will be headed for another one sometimes down the road.

In 18 games for the Legends this season Ledo is averaging 13.6 points, 6.2 rebounds and 2.6 assists in 29.1 minutes per game. In 11 games for the Mavs this season Ledo is averaging 1.7 points in just three minutes per game.

The Mavs will be witout forward Shawn Marion (shoulder/ribs) when they host Sacramento tonight at 7:30, which is why the move to promote Ledo was necessary.

DALLAS -- Of all the players who were on the bubble to make this year's NBA All-Star team, Sacramento Kings center DeMarcus Cousins was probably more deserving of anyone who didn't earn a trip to the prestigious midseason classic.

Cousins is 10th in the league in scoring (22.6), tied for fifth in rebounding (11.6), fifth in double-doubles (28), ninth in steals (1.78), 22nd in blocks (1.2) and 35th in field goal shooting (48.8 percent). In other words, Cousins is a stat machine waiting to happen.

"I thought if you look at his numbers and if you look at those numbers alone, he's worthy of an All-Star roster spot,'' Kings coach Michael Malone said after Friday's shootaround at American Airlines Center. "But the coaches vote, they decide to leave him off.

"I think a large part of that is our (15-30) record, to be very honest. What I told DeMarcus is, 'For you to be a perennial All-Star you have to be on a winning team, that way it takes all that out of the equation. Don't get down, this is just another opportunity for you to continue to work hard and use it as motivation,' and he's handled it very well.''

Portland's LaMarcus Aldridge (24.3 points, 11.6 rebounds) and Minnesota Kevin Love (25 points, 12.9 rebounds) are the only two players with numbers similar to Cousins. And they both earned berths to this year's All-Star game.

"That's where you say, 'Well, if those guys made it, why not DeMarcus,' '' Malone said. "But the coaches made their decision, we respect that decision and I hope when he does come back that he's DeMarcus Cousins an animal.''

Cousins has missed the past four games with a sprained left ankle and is a game-time decision for tonight's 7:30 contest against the Dallas Mavericks. Meanwhile, Malone is standing by his No. 1 player and wonders why he got snubbed by the Western Conference coaches who voted for the seven All-Star reserves out West.

"I don't think there's another center in the NBA that can do what he does and has the array of skills that he does, who can rebound, bring the ball up the ocurt, make an assist, score with the back to the basket, score facing the basket, pass, get blocks, get steals,'' Malone said. "He does a little bit of everything.

"It's definitely disappointing, but not a setback. We have bigger goals as a team and I think he'll use it as motivation moving forward to try to help this team become, instead of 15-30, maybe 30-15. Now he's a lock to make that team in my eyes.''

DALLAS -- Sacramento coach Michael Malone doesn't think forward DeMarcus Cousins will play for the Kings tonight when they face the Dallas Mavericks at 7:30 at American Airlines Center.

Cousins, who averages 22.6 points and 11.6 rebounds, has missed the past four games with a sprained left ankle and is very crucial to the Kings' attack.

"I'm not very optimistic at the moment, but stranger things have happened,'' Malone said after Friday morning's shootaround. "He wasn't able to go through a whole lot yesterday, and the shootaround today he was limited.

"So it'll be a game-time decision. But I'm not very optimistic at this point.''

Cousins cranked out 32 points and 19 rebounds when the Kings beat the Mavs 112-97 in Sacramento on Dec. 9.

DALLAS -- The Dallas Mavericks aren't sure if they'll have to contend with forward DeMarcus Cousins when they entertain the Sacramento Kings tonight at 7:30 at American Airlines Center.

Cousins has missed the past four games with a sprained left ankle and traveled with the Kings to Dallas. His status for tonight is unknown, but if he plays he'll likely create an assortment of problems the Mavs have to deal with.

"I'm assuming he's playing,'' coach Rick Carlisle said. "And if he does we've got to be ready to throw a bunch of guys at him and have different coverages ready.

"And it heightens the importance of the boards.''

When the Kings beat up the Mavs, 112-97, on Dec. 9 in Sacramento, Cousins delivered 32 points and 19 rebounds. He thoroughly dominated the Mavs as he was 10-of-17 from the field and 12-of-14 from the free throw line, but also committed nine turnovers.

For the season Cousins is 10th in the NBA in scoring (22.6 points per game) and tied for fifth in rebounding (11.6 rebounds per game). Those lofty numbers are worthy of All-Star consideration.

Yet, Cousins is likely in a foul mood right now because the Western Conference coaches did not pick him as one of the seven reserves to play in the upcoming NBA All-Star game.

DALLAS -- With Shawn Marion slated to sit out tonight's game against the Sacramento Kings, the Dallas Mavericks will look to Jae Crowder to step up and have make an inpact.

Especially on the defensive end of the floor.

Crowder has started six games this season, and the Mavs are 5-1 in those games. But the Mavs really need him to make up for what they'll lose defensively without Marion.

"He's been a solid guy for us,'' coach Rick Carlisle said of Crowder. "This obviously bumps him into more minutes and we need him to be solid and play without fouling and play his game and go from there.

"And from there I'm not sure exactly where the rotation goes. We're going to have to have a lot of guys ready.''

Crowder is averaging a modest 5.3 points and 2.5 rebounds in 18.1 minutes per game. Yet his defense will obviously be front and center tonight.

"(Crowder has) gotten better and better, and tonight's a night where it's going to be a really good test for him and for all of us,'' Carlisle said. "When you're guarding guys like (Rudy) Gay and (Derrick) Williams -- when he's had a night like he had against us the last time -- you can't guard those guys one-on-one.

"You've got to have help. You've got to make it as hard as you can on them one-on-one, but our team defense has got to be really good.''

DALLAS -- If Dallas Mavericks coach Rick Carlisle nearly got the chills because of all the "blow-bys'' from the Houston Rockets on Wednesday night, he may freeze tonight when his team plays the Sacramento Kings.

That's because the Mavs will be without their best one-on-one defender, Shawn Marion, who will not play tonight against the Kings. Marion hasn't fully recovered from the right shoulder and upper rib contusions he suffered during a Jan. 7 home game against the Los Angeles Lakers.

The injury forced Marion to miss four games from Jan. 8-13. But in the eight games he's played since returning from the injury, Marion's offense has severely suffered as he scored less than 10 points in five of those games.

Meanwhile, if Marion is the Mavs' best one-on-one defender, what does this do to the Mavs' defense tonight?